chris: howard, everybody's talking about what kind of approach is obama going to take this second term. is he going to be conciliatory? or is he going to be mr. tough guy? >> he wants to get things done by being tough and even confrontation. in the first term he tried to change the tone of washington as the outcider, sort of by a combination of aloofness and steady thought. now it's in your face. and he's going to be that way with joe biden at his side. because this is how he validates his presidency. things like heal care have to be implemented. things like gun laws and so forth have to be passed. he's decided that the way to get it done is to confront the republican party which is in a weakened state right now. chris: if he hits them hard, charles krauthammer said he's doing this not just to get his goals achieved but to crack the other party. to force them to choose and take the suburbanites as i said in the opening and force them to sit at the side where the hard right or somewhere in the center. crack them. do you think he's up to that, too? >> i agree with howard -- what howard s